I just finished Bill Rodgers’ new book, "Marathon Man," written with Matthew Shepatin.

If you have an interest in the marathon, or you’re a competitive or recreational runner of any kind, or just like sports, you might want to read this book.

Rodgers, a four-time winner of both the Boston and New York marathons, was the king of distance running back in 1983 when he came to Utica and ran the Boilermaker in record time. He didn’t make it here the next year because of an injury, but he’s been here almost every year since to help promote the race and … yes, run, because that is what he does. He isn’t the beast he once was – he’s 65 now – but he’s won his age group several times over the years and finished in the top five numerous times. He was third in the 65-69 age group this year in 1:15:33. He helped put the Boilermaker on the map 30 years ago, and he has continued to give it class and weight by showing up ever since. He’s been great to the race and to the Mohawk Valley in general.

I agree with Roger Robinson, a road-racing icon of another stripe who also is here every year with his wife, women’s running pioneer Kathrine Switzer, when he suggested in a recent story in Running Times that Bill’s voice gets overwhelmed at times by Shepatin’s in the telling of the story, but the book remains a great read. It’s the story of Rodgers’ journey from terrific high school runner to very good college runner to a sort of aimless, Winston-smoking, cocktail-swilling young man before his metamorphosis into a world-class marathoner and one of the twin detonators, with Frank Shorter, of the American running boom of the 1970s.

I knew much of the story, but I didn’t realize how influential Amby Burfoot, Rodgers’ Wesleyan University teammate and the 1968 Boston Marathon champion, was in his career, and I didn’t know a lot of other details.

I seem to recall someone calling Rodgers the most down-to-earth celebrity in America, and I’d say that is right. Not everyone can spend 20 minutes or so talking to him and trying to keep up as he bounces from thought to thought – always fun, I can assure you – but this book is the next best thing.

It’s from Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin Press and available at all the usual places.